Talking of bio-vehicles, you can't really ignore its evolution into bio-mechanica in the hands of H.R.Giger.
I first came across his skeletal pipes on the cover of Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson Lake and Palmer in 1973. I was 12 and it was one of my two older Brothers' LP's in the pile next the music centre we had back then.
I had no idea it was a Giger cover but always remembered it. I made the connection with the emergence of ALIEN five years later. The nuts, bolts, screws and skulls suddenly fell into place!
The inside cover, hinted at through the peep hole on the front, involved further Gigerism, a portrait of his girlfriend Sil.
Just where would ALIEN and SPECIES be without Giger?
I still havn't heard Brain Salad Surgery even after all these years. I was more into the guitar-based side of prog as a teenager, rather than all those moogs. Am I missing anything readers?
Theres some concept art by Ron Cobb concerning the design of the Alien creature,but he eventually worked on the spaceship design.Cobb's ideas were interesting,but not as scary as Giger's creation,in my opinion.Do look into some Moog rock bands,it's good stuff.Bands like Tangerine Dream and Moody Blues are in league with ELP.To a lesser extent,Hawkwind and later,Asia, also utilized analog synthesizers.They provide a warm sound that fits between the Hammond and Farfissa organs of old and the icy digital tones of latter decades.
ReplyDeleteI'll give those moogers a whirl then Brian. I was aware of Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, ELP, Moody Blues et al. Actually I was totally into Yes and still play them regularly. Topographic Oceans and the Yes Album are my faves. I'm not sure if they were moogers, but i could never get into Genesis. I did listen to them in my friends' shed but couldn't get excited. Carpet Crawlers is one I did like by them. I was too busy listening to heavy rock really. Who did you listen to Brian?
DeleteI always liked Deep Purple and Rainbow.Blue Oyster Cult and the Ramones were also 70's favorites.In the 80's,I explored the metal scene and found German metal,like Helloween,Accept and Running Wild appealed to me most.In the 90's the popular music scene became uninteresting to me,alternative and such.Today,in the states, metal is making a small comeback and some of the older bands are touring again.Recently got to see Iron Maiden,Judas Priest,and ,thankfully,Motorhead.
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you there Brian, some great old bands. Smoke on the Water was the first guitar riff I ever learnt! Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear The Reaper, what a classic. I also loved Purple, Quo, Sabbath, Montrose, Skynyrd, Uriah Heep, early Priest, Humble Pie and Hendrix. Above them all strode Budgie, Rush and Free, the three greatest rock bands ever [IMHO!]. Oh, and I loved Pink Faeries and PFM. New Wave and Punk washed over me really except for Lou Reed, who I discovered early on via Bowie and Talking Heads, who I adored. Not been to a gig in years but I listen to rock music every day. Motorhead must have been special. Keep the faith!
Delete